Throughout the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Southern Drama continued to develop, while absorbing elements fromZaju. As a result, the Southern Drama made a great leap forward in sophistication.
The Story of the Hairpin, The Story of the White Rabbit, The Two Moon Prayers, The Story of the Pipa and The Story of Killing the Dogare the five most representative of the dramas popular at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. It is a great pity that the names of their authors are unknown.
The Story of the Hairpinis a historical account of how Qian Yulian, a prostitute, marries Wang Shipeng. After Wang successfully passes in the imperial examination, he abandons her. Qian Yulian then throws herself into a river and drowns. However, the drama tells a totally different story of how a couple is loyal to each other, and Wang Shipeng is a positive character. This complicated story has as its theme the loyalty of a man to the wife of his poverty-stricken days after he becomes a high-ranking official. It criticizes a very common phenomenon in feudal society, by which men who became successful abandoned the wives they married when they were poor. This drama was very popular among the ordinary people of the time, as it sings the praises of true love and loyalty, and despises the treachery of rich and high-ranking officials.
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The Story of the White Rabbitis about Liu Zhiyuan, a historical figure born into a family which had been reduced to poverty. Starting out as a humble soldier, he wins promotion right up to the rank of general, and finally becomes Emperor Gaozu of the Later Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties Period (947-950). Meanwhile, Li Sanniang, gives birth to a boy and sends him to join the army when he gets older. One day, Yaoqilang goes hunting, and chases a white rabbit, which leads to the family being united once more. The drama also lauds Li Sanniang, who did not judge people by their wealth, and married Liu Zhiyuan, a poor man. The most touching aspect of the drama lies in Li Sanniang's sufferings: She "carried water 3,000 times a day, and milled grain all night".
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The Two Moon Prayersportrays the turmoil and chaos of war, and tells how people were uprooted from their homes and forced to wander destitute. The leading male and female characters meet as they flee from war. They go through thick and thin together and finally fall in love. Without the permission of their parents or an introduction by a go-between, they marry amidst the flames of war, contrary to feudal mores. The tension in this drama stems from the contrast between the love between the two people and the grim situation of war.
The Story of Killing the Dogtells how Sun Hua, jealous of his younger brother, reduces him to the condition of a beggar. Sun Hua's wife, who feels sorry for her brother-in-law, has a dog killed and disguised as a corpse. She then places the "corpse" in front of the house. Sun Hua is terrified and asks his worthless cronies to help him move the "corpse", but they all refuse. Only his younger brother generously offers to get rid of it; so that suspicion should not fall on Sun Hua, his younger brother claims to be the murderer. In the end, the brothers are reconciled, and are praised by the local magistrate. This drama warns against falling in with bad companions and failing to tell the good from the evil.
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The Story of the Pipaisa folk tale extant in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) about how Cai Bojie betrays his parents and wife, and is killed by a thunderbolt. Based on this story, Gao Ming, wrote a play which has a happy ending. InThe Story of the Pipa, Cai Bojie is an honest scholar who is devoted to his parents and wife, and has no desire for riches or fame. His father, however, insists that he go to the capital to sit for the imperial examination. When he passes with the highest honors the prime minister forces him to marry his daughter, and the emperor refuses to allow him to leave his post and go home. Meanwhile, a severe drought strikes his native region, and his parents starve to death. Cai's wife, Zhao Wuniang, begs her way to the capital, and at last finds her husband. Cai Bojie and his two wives observe a three-year period of mourning for his deceased parents, and they win acclaim from the emperor and people for their filial devotion. The message of the play is that the pursuit of wealth and rank tore families apart in feudal times. Cai Bojie unwittingly falls into the trap that lies in wait for the successful, while Zhao Wuniang loyally supports her parents-in-law despite grueling hardships. In the drama, high-ranking officials are arrogant and domineering, enjoying lives of luxury and extravagance; at the same time, the countryside is a scene of desolation. This vividly shows the profound contradictions in the old society.
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